Chad Tracy Should Be a Lock for AL Manager of the Year

Are the Boston Red Sox a legitimate threat to win the 2026 World Series?

That’s now a question we can debate.

Here’s something that’s not debatable: Boston’s Chad Tracy should be selected as the American League Manager of the Year. He deserves the lion’s share of the credit for one of the greatest turnarounds in MLB history.

Tracy managed in the Los Angeles Angels farm system for three years before he spent four seasons as the organization’s minor league field coordinator. He was named the manager of the Worcester Red Sox – Boston’s Triple-A affiliate – in 2021, and became Boston’s interim manager when the team fired Alex Cora earlier this season. The Red Sox had a 10-17 record at that time.

Boston was 14 games under the .500 mark on June 25, and had a 37-46 record entering July. At that point the Red Sox looked like anything but playoff contenders. The team struggled mightily to score, and there were whispers about poor team chemistry. Opinions about who the team should unload at the trade deadline dominated talk radio, podcasts and print/digital media. That’s when the team did an about-face.

Boston played its way into playoff contention by posting a 21-4 record in July. The month included a 15-game winning streak that tied a franchise record. When the Red Sox beat the Athletics 13-1 last Friday it marked the team’s 27th victory in its last 30 games.

Instead of sellers, the Red Sox became buyers at the trade deadline with catcher Adley Rutschman being the team’s prize acquisition.

“What we’re seeing with the Boston Red Sox is the craziest team turnaround in the history of baseball,” ESPN’s Buster Olney said.

Boston did all this without ace Garrett Crochet, who hasn’t pitched since April 25 because of an injured left shoulder (he may return later this season); and without outfielder Roman Anthony, who many penciled in as the future face of the franchise. Anthony hasn’t played in a game since May 4, when he suffered a hand injury during a check swing against the Detroit Tigers.

So what happened?

Well, it’s been a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. The Red Sox players seem to have adopted a team-first attitude, and the scoring issues went away after Tracy instituted somewhat of a small-ball approach that included more bunting and more aggressiveness on the bases – a style that’s better suited the players’ offensive strengths. It would be hard to envision the Red Sox not removing the “interim” from Tracy’s title when the season ends.

All that said, Tracy has competition in the race for AL Manager of the Year. Many feel the award should go to Will Venable, who has the White Sox at the top of the AL Central standings after they finished 60-102 and in last place last season. Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash is sure to get support as well, since the Rays are in first place after a fourth-place finish (77-85 record) in the AL East last season.

An argument can be made for both, but barring an unforseable collapse that causes the Red Sox to miss the playoffs, the strongest argument can be made for Tracy.